Visiting Dreams
by A Lunatic's Lament
Summary: September 1st marks Veelan's first day as a new witch at Hogwarts and she couldn't be more excited. That is until she meets the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Something is strange about him. What could it be? And why is Veelan having these bizarre nightmares about him? With the help of her new red-haired companions, she'll embark on an adventure she could only dream about.
1. Diagon Alley

**Hello all! I've been binge watching Harry Potter and decided to re-write one of my old fics. I'm using a new character with the same story I had before just because I thought she fit better with the twins c: So sit back and enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: ALL does not own Harry Potter. Her OCs belong to her. The rest are the rightful property of our queen.**

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**Chapter One**

**Diagon Alley**

Veelan hated mornings. In fact, if it were up to her, she would lock her bedroom door and wrap herself up in her blankets like a caterpillar in its cacoon and sleep until four in the afternoon. However, it wasn't up to her and she just had to deal with it. But this morning was a peculiar one. Instead of being woken by her cheerful aunt like she always was, the girl was roused awake by a strange tapping at her bedroom window.

"What on earth could that be?" she muttered groggily. Veelan stumbled out of bed, her hair sticking out in every which direction, and crossed the room to her window where she threw the curtains open. She was immediately blinded by the early morning sun. Suppressing a furious hiss, she squinted through the light to see what was making the noise. To her surprise, it was a large tawny barn owl. Curiously, she shoved her window open to allow the bird to swoop into her bedroom and perch itself on her headboard. In its beak was a rather thick envelope. She took the mail from it and instantly forgot all about her hatred for mornings.

In her excitement, she had rushed out of her room without fixing her hair or even changing out of her night clothes - not that she cared at the moment - and nearly bowled over her aunt who was making her way down the hall to her bedroom. Veelan skid to a stop, out of breath.

"Where's the fire, Vee?" her aunt asked, amused.

"Kemera...!" she panted, holding up her letter, "I got... Accepted... Into... Hogwarts...!"

Kemera's face lit up at the news and she took the envelope from her niece and opened it. She pulled out the letter, which was a rather thick piece of parchment, and skimmed through it, a large grin spreading slowly across her face with each word. She pulled out another piece of parchment from the envelope. It looked like a list.

"Oh, how wonderful! We can get all of this at Diagon Alley," Kemera squealed happily, "We can go today, actually. I've been needing a reason to get out of the house."

"You need a life, Kem," Veelan joked, taking the list from her aunt to read over it. It was a list of supplies she would need for the year. Excitement welled in her stomach.

"I do, don't I?" Kemera nodded, "Why don't you go get ready and we'll head out as soon as you're done?"

"What about breakfast?" Veelan asked.

"We'll take something with us," her aunt waved her hand nonchalantly.

Veelan took no time with her shower. She hastily washed her hair in the hot stream and tumbled out of the tub with the towel wrapped around her. Dressing was a challenge seeing as her excitement left her hands shaking so bad she nearly punched herself in the face pulling her T-shirt over her head. With her hair brushed the way she liked, Veelan hurried out of her room and down the stairs where Kemera had been waiting for her. Upon inspection, she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Jakelob?" she asked. Her uncle was usually in the kitchen cooking one thing or another or sitting in the lounge reading the _Daily Prophet_.

"He went into work," her aunt replied, "Said the Ministry needed his help and that it was urgent. Didn't say why. But we'll see him when we get back. Are we ready to go?"

The two made their way to the garage where a rusty pick-up truck stood waiting. Veelan smirked, "Still not fond of the Floo Network, are we?"

"Not a chance," Kemera made a face, "It's too swirly and I feel suffocated. If you ask me, it's the worst way to travel. Next to portkeys, that is. And broomsticks are too risky."

They climbed into the truck and soon they were rumbling down the lane on their way to Diagon Alley. Kemera spent the time telling Veelan storied of her time at Hogwarts. She had been in Hufflepuff ("Dreadful House..." she shook her head, "I mean, it wasn't all that bad, but everyone was just so _nice_. Made you think they had some ulterior motive."). She even became Head Girl in her sixth year. One night while she had been patrolling, she caught a boy sneaking into the kitchens after curfew. He had tried to sweet talk her with pumpkin pasties and a flask of pumpkin juice so he wouldn't get into trouble ("He was just so sweet and scared out of his wits, the poor dear... So I gave him a chance and the lovable moron is now my husband."). She was in the middle of telling her niece how they had jinxed a quill so that all it wrote was "I love dragon dung" when they had arrived at their destination.

"I guess we'll save the rest of that story for another time," Kemera chuckled.

Veelan had only been to the Leaky Cauldron one time in her life, and it was the only time she had visited Diagon Alley as well. At the time she had been fairly young so not much, if anything, seemed familiar to her. Kemera pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron and lead the way inside. The pub was rather dark with a few questionable individuals seated in the rickety chairs and stools around the bar. A bald, toothless bartender wiped a glass with a stained rag. He nodded to Kemera as they passed. She led them to door at the back which opened to a small area where the trash bins were kept. Without a word, Kemera took her wand from the pocket of her jeans and approached the far wall, tapping it on a few choice bricks.

At first, nothing happened and Veelan raised her eyebrow at her aunt. Had she finally lost it? Then the bricks began to tremble. They shook, they rattled, and soon they began shifting to form a large archway in the seemingly solid wall. She stepped aside to let her niece through and Veelan was greeted by a wonderful sight. A cobblestone street lined with shops twisted and turned from sight ahead of her. Witches and wizards of all shapes, sizes, and colors bustled by with packages of unknown things and cages with owls and cats. Children weaved through the adults with ice cream and toy broom sticks that hovered just a few feet off the ground. A group of teens were gathered around a window outside of the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop, gawking at a new broom model ("It's the fastest of the Comets! Oh how I wish I could have it..."). The sight was so marvelous she almost felt guilty for not remembering it from her first visit.

"I'll take that," Kemera plucked the list from Veelan's hands and pointed in the direction of the end of the cobblestone street, "You go to Ollivander's and get your wand. Here's some galleons. This should be enough to cover it," she pulled out a pouch filled with silver, bronze, and gold coins and handed her a handful of galleons.

"What about you?" Veelan asked.

"I'll get your other things while you do that," her aunt replied, "Now hurry before you get trampled. I'll meet you at Madame Maulkin's in an hour."

With that, Kemera was swallowed by the crowd, leaving Veelan by herself with a handful of wizarding money. Not that she minded. The shops were interesting enough to look at, and the people were even more interesting to watch as they walked passed. Veelan almost stopped to help a boy struggling with a few wrapped packages, but she figured it would just be best to start for Ollivander's. As soon as she walked away, she heard the boy trip and tumble to the ground.

Ollivander's was a shabby little shop with a wand resting on faded purple pillow in the dusty window. The sign above the door read: Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 b.c in peeling gold letters. Veelan opened the door. A bell rang somewhere in the shop. The front of the store was empty save for a rickety old chair sitting under the window. Veelan was sure if she sat on it, it would break. Beyond the counter were piles of wand boxes stacked neatly to the ceiling, creating a maze throughout the rest of the store. She approached the counter and rang the bell sitting atop of it.

Silence.

An elderly man with pale skin and misty eyes stepped around the corner. His smile was almost eerie and sent a chill down Veelan's spine, "Welcome, welcome, Miss," he said, "Here for your wand, eh?"

"Y-yes sir," Veelan nodded. The man she assumed was Ollivander didn't seem to blink his eyes.

"Let's not waste any time then," Ollivander took out a measuring tape from the inside of his jacket and began measuring the length of her arms as well as her height and places that seemed quite silly. "That's enough," Veelan hadn't realized Ollivander had drifted to the stacks of boxes and began piling them on top of the counter, leaving the tape to measure her by itself. At his command, it crumpled to a heap on the floor. After gathering nearly twenty boxes, he finally gestured for Veelan to try one. He took the first from its box, "Cherry and phoenix feather, nine and a half inches. Just take it and give it a wave."

Veelan took the wand from Ollivander and waved it. Nothing happened. He took the wand from her and tossed it to the corner before passing her another wand, "Elm with unicorn hair. Ten inches. Try."

When she took the wand, it was immediately taken away and replaced with another. This happened again and again and again until a small pile of discarded wands lay in the corner. Veelan was beginning to think she would never find her wand at this rate. Clicking his tongue, Ollivander swooped to the very back of the shop in search of another box. When he came back, a most curious smile was spread across his face.

"This is alder with dragon heartstring. Eleven inches. I have confidence in this one," he handed the wand to Veelan. Immediately the girl felt a warmth like no other. It was friendly, almost familiar. It drifted through her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Ollivander clapped his hands together with delight, "Excellent! Excellent! I knew we had found the winner. Now, let's wrap that up for you. It seems you've got a long day ahead of you."

The sunlight had never before been more appreciated by Veelan than it did the moment she stepped outside of Ollivander's shop. She clutched her newly purchased wand to her chest as she bounded down the lane towards Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She was early. Kemera hadn't made it yet so she decided to enter the shop and get fitted for her new robes.

"Hogwarts, dear?" Madame Malkin herself was a squat witch dressed in all mauve. She guided Veelan to a stool and stood her on it. Then she draped black material over her head and began pinning it places to make it fit.

"Is this your first year at Hogwarts?" Madame Malkin asked as she bustled about Veelan.

"Mhm," the girl nodded.

"You nervous?"

"More excited, but equally as nervous."

Madame Malkin smiled, "no need to be nervous, dear. We all went through our first day, Once you get sorted into your House you'll feel less out of place," she began stitching the pinned areas until finally she said, "You're all done, dear."

Veelan payed for her new robes with the rest of her money and stepped back outside to wait for Kemera. Her aunt had yet still to show up. She decided to wander over to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Screech, barn, and snowy owls hooted from their cages on the outside of the shop. Veelan approached a female snowy owl with large amber eyes. It hooted softly at her and allowed the girl to stick her fingers into the cage and stroke the side of her face. It nipped her affectionately when she pulled away.

"Watch out!"

Veelan spun around in time to see a trolley barreling towards her. She stumbled back to avoid impact, but tripped, cracking her head on the doorstep of the shop. A loud explosion and a searing pain in her hand alleviated the attention from the throbbing on the back of her head. Veelan cried out in pain. Something had burned her hand.

"Are you alright, mate?" a pair of hands reached out and hauled Veelan to her feet, "We told you to watch out."

Either she had hit her head harder than she thought or there was a pair of identical red-haired boys grinning down at her. Se rubbed the back of her head, "T-twins..." she muttered stupidly.

"Hey, we have names, ya know?" one of them smirked. He held out his hand, "Fred Weasley. This is my brother George."

"Veelan," she said, taking Fred's hand. His grip triggered another sharp pain that shot through her entire arm. The back of her hand was beginning to swell, the skin puckering to an angry red color. Fred cringed.

"Oh, our Exploding Snap cards must have fallen off of our trolley," he said, "Sorry about that..."

"That's what that was?" she asked, "Well... It's nothing that can't be fixed. it should be fine."

"And if it isn't?" George asked.

"We'll treat her to ice cream. Girls like that stuff, right?" Fred winked at Veelan.

"U-uh... Sure," she replied. 'These two are interesting... In a good way.'

"Fred, George? Come on, we still have some shopping to do!"

"Coming Mum!" Fred called over his shoulder to a squat woman with red hair Veelan assumed was their mother, "It was nice meeting you. Veelan, right? Let's meet up on the Hogwarts Express."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," Veelan smiled and waved the Weasley twins off.

"There you are!" a voice called. Kemera had finally arrived carrying many wrapped parsols in her arms. She gasped at Veelan's hand, "Vee, what happened?"

"Huh? Oh... Some boys lost control of their trolley and a pack of Exploding Snap cards fell on my hand."

"What am I gonna do with you?" Kemera sighed, "Well, come on. We'll have to fix it up at home."

The two made their way back through the crowds of people towards the archway leading to the Leaky Cauldron. Veelan watched as Diagon Alley disappeared behind a wall of solid brick.

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**I hope you enjoyed chapter one c: please leave a review. They're very much appreciated 3**


	2. Exploding Snap

**Hello again! Welcome to chapter two! I hope it's satisfactory enough.**

**Also, I would like to point somethings that my lovely reviewers were telling me: this will follow both the books and the movies so a lot of what happens will be a mixture of both. I probably should have stated that at the beginning of the last chapter... And I changed my mistakes for chapter one. I apologize. It was four AM when I wrote it ;^;**

**DISCLAIMER: ALL does not own Harry Potter. Her OCs belong to her. The rest are the rightful property of our queen.**

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**Chapter Two**

**Exploding Snap**

Something soft brushed against Veelan's upper lip. Startled, she bolted upright in her bed, ready to strike whatever it was that had crawled into her room, when she realized the soft, furry thing had been the long tail of a black she-cat. The girl sighed, feeling guilty that she had almost flung the poor thing into the wall. It blinked curiously up at her with large amber eyes.

"You like her?"

Kemera was leaning casually on the door frame of Veelan's room. She crossed over and sat down on the edge of her niece's bed, "I wasn't sure what you would have liked when we were at Diagon Alley. Honestly, the question slipped my mind until just recently. It took me a while, but I finally settled on her."

"She's beautiful," Veelan commented, stroking a hand along the feline's slender back. It purred with delight.

"What'll you call her?"

This was usually the part of being a pet owner that Veelan hated most. She was terrible with names, and the lamp-like eyes staring at her with ferocious intensity wasn't helping either. She bit her lip and looked the animal over as if waiting for her to open her mouth and speak the name she would prefer to be called. Then she remembered something she had read in a book at the library a few years ago. _Something about Greek Gods and Goddesses... What was it? The Goddess of Night...? Nox - or something? Nyx? Yes, that was it._

"I think I'll call her Nyx," she finally concluded. The cat mewed as if in agreement.

"Well, if she loves it then so do I," Kemera nodded, then took her niece by the arm and hauled her straight out of bed and onto her feet, "Let's not waste anymore time in bed! You've got a long trip ahead of you today and it's best if we get an early start.

Veelan wobbled as her tired legs tried to stand on their own, "I do? What's toda- oh!" A smile crept on her lips as realization dawned on her: today was going to be her first day at Hogwarts. She had been waiting for this moment the second her letter arrived in the post and her things were packed nicely in the corner by her vanity mirror, "I just want to skip breakfast and go straight to the train station."

"Want to leave us so soon, eh?" Kemera winked, "Well, you can't skip breakfast or you'll be dead on your feet by the time we get you a trolley for your things. Now, c'mon. Jakelob fixed us all pancakes."

All of the portraits sleeping in their frames were slowly beginning to wake to the smell of fresh coffee and maple. One, an elderly woman with frizzy gray hair, smiled sleepily at Veelan as she came down the stairs, "Good morning, dear."

"Good morning Grandma Mable," said Veelan.

The two walked down the hallway towards the kitchen where they found Jakelob at the stove with his wand in hand, watching a batch of pancakes flip themselves on the griddle. He turned his head to them when they entered, "You excited for today?" he asked.

"Positively bursting," Veelan said, taking her place at the table. A plate of food was set in front of her and she quickly realized just how hungry she was. Kemera was right. If she had skipped breakfast she wouldn't have made it to the station. Veelan began shoveling pancakes into her mouth. Kemera cringed.

"Slow down, Vee. You'll pull something," she said.

"Sorry," Veelan swallowed sheepishly and pulled out her new wand, which she had kept at her bedside. She would soon be able to use it. She clutched it excitedly to her chest.

"You better hurry and finish," Jakelob said, "We have a long trip ahead of us."

In her excitement, she began wolfing down her breakfast, swallowing without knowing if she had chewed properly or not and ignoring the looks her aunt was giving her, because she wanted to hurry back upstairs and bring her things to the front hall. After her trunk was moved and the truck keys were located, the three of them piled into the vehicle and rumbled their way down the lane. London was calling.

* * *

"Finally! I thought we'd never make it on time!" Veelan hopped out of the truck and stretched her arms high above her head. Her legs and back felt stiff from sitting for so long with all of the excitement brewing in her belly.

"We're twenty minutes early," Jakelob grunted. He was already trying to lift her trunk out of the bed, but his legs were buckling under the weight.

"That's why I said 'thought'"

"Okay, calm down and help me with your things."

"I'll fetch a trolley," Kemera strolled away in search of a cart.

King's Cross station was flooded with people as the three made their way through the crowds. Veelan was offered strange looks for her trunk and wrapped packages on her trolley as well as the sleeping black curled up on top. She tried to ignore them and turned to her uncle, "So, where is the platform?"

"Right this way," he guided them to a pillar between platforms nine and ten, "Ah, this brings back memories... Thought I was going to crash right into the thing the first time I went through."

"This?" she asked in disbelief. She didn't understand, "But this is a brick pillar. I'll break my neck!"

"I'm disappointed in you Veelan," Jakelob acted as if he were wounded, "A witch who doubts magic itself. How 'bout this? You take a few steps back and run straight for this pillar and then you'll see."

With no other options, Veelan rolled her trolley a few feet back, facing the pillar trunk first. Nyx had woken up in the chaos of the crowd and had climbed her way onto Veelan's shoulders. More people stared at her as they passed. With a deep breath, the girl closed her eyes and began running. She waited for her trolley to crash and for her to tumble over her trunk. Instead, there was a rush of wind and he sound of steam escaping an engine. Someone tapped her shoulder.

"You can open your eyes, Vee."

A scarlet steam engine stood at the platform labeled 9 3/4, white smoke billowing across the its body. Students clamored with their trunks and trolleys as they chatted with each other while parents stood idly by calling after their children with last goodbye's and I love you's. Owls hooted from their cages, cats weaved though the mass of legs, and a toad croaked from on top of a lone trunk. There was so much to take in Veelan wasn't sure where to begin.

"Let's get your things onto the train, eh?" Jakelob took hold of her trolley and pushed it to the nearest entrance to the scarlet machine. Veelan stepped on board and dragged her trunk up as it was handed off to her. Her aunt and uncle smiled at her.

"I'll write you when I get settled, okay?"

"Have fun, kiddo."

"And behave!"

Veelan smiled, an odd mixture of excitement and sadness swirling around in her head, and dragged her trunk with her as she searched for a place to sit. She found an empty compartment at the end of the fifth car. She lugged the heavy trunk into the racks above her head before opening the window to wave at her family. The Hogwarts Express whistled, signaling its departure. Soon it began its sluggish pace away from the platform and the station disappeared from sight. Veelan sat down in her seat, her heart fluttering with excitement. To keep her mind occupied, she pulled out her favorite book and began to read.

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"Blimey, are all of the compartments filled?" Fred Weasley muttered, glancing into every compartment as he and his brother passed them, "At this rate, we'll be sitting in the luggage racks."

"You think we ought to have stayed with Percy?" George asked, shuffling through his new deck of Exploding Snap cards.

"Not a chance," Fred snorted, checking another compartment, "I can hear him now: 'Don't let me catch you two blowing up a toilet seat or something on your first day because I'm a git who can't keep his big nose out of other people's business, especially my family's.'"

"You been working hard on that impression?"

"Eh, when I get around to it."

The twins had made their way through nearly every car checking nearly every compartment for a pair of seats. It was looking as if they would be sitting in the luggage racks - until Fred stopped and backtracked to a particular compartment.

"Oi, George," he beckoned.

A lone girl sat inside with her nose in a rather large book. It was Veelan. She hadn't yet noticed the boys looking in on her. In fact, "Lively lass, isn't she?" George asked.

"We might as well join her," Fred raised his hand and smacked the glass hard.

* * *

Veelan was just getting to her favorite part in her book. This was where the hero, a woman disguised as a man, one of the best knights, would reveal herself to the King's Court. She leaned forward, completely enthralled with the tale that the BANG! nearly toppled her out of her seat. Heart thrashing, she looked up from her book. Fred and George Weasley, the boys she had met in Diagon Alley, were smiling in on her. One of them, the one she believed was Fred Weasley, had his hand pressed on the glass. So he's the culprit. Fred shoved the door open and stepped inside.

"Good morning, Veelan," he said, allowing his brother to step in next to him, "It seems my brother and I are in a bit of a pinch. You see, we've been searching for a compartment for such a long time and we couldn't help but notice you, sitting here by your lonesome, had a couple of spare seats. Might we join you?"

"I don't see why not?" Veelan shrugged. The trip was getting kind of lonely now that she wouldn't be able to focus on her book any longer.

"Marvelous," the twins grinned. They sat down in unison.

"Ah, Georgie. I feel like this is the beginning of beautiful friendship, don't'cha think?" Fred put and arm around his brother's shoulder.

George grinned wider, "Aye Freddie. How's about a game of Exploding Snap, eh?" He produced a deck of cards from his pocket.

"Are those the same cards that exploded on my hand?" Veelan smirked, holding up her still-bandaged fingers.

"The very ones," Fred cracked, though his eyes looked guilty just at the mention of the accident, "Let's play."

It turned out George wasn't very good at Exploding Snap. In fact, his cards had begun to explode so often his red hair was slowly turning black from the soot. When he would set a card down, he flinched so hard he nearly smacked his face off of the window. Once the ends on his hair caught fire and in his panic he managed to punch himself in the forehead. After a few rounds, he sat there sulking.

"Rubbish," he muttered, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You know you aren't very good at this game to begin with Georgie," Fred patted his brother on the back, "Even Ginny can beat you. And she's eight."

"Who's Ginny?" asked Veelan.

"Our darling little sister who is strangely good at everything we do," Fred replied, "We think she's an alien."

"Lovely," Veelan rolled her eyes and set another card down. After a few tense moments it seemed as if she had made the right move so Veelan relaxed her shoulders.

BOOM.

The three of them were blinded by a screen of black smoke as the card caught. Veelan scrambled for the window, desperate for clean air, while Fred shoved the compartment door aside. They caused such a roucous, coughing and choking, that other students peered curiously out into the hall.

"I think it's safe to say that game is over," George wheezed. His face and hair were covered in soot, making his blue eyes the only clean part of his appearance.

"Good timing too," said Veelan. Her head was still hanging out of the window, "I think I can see lights."

While the trio had been focused on their game, the sun had dipped down behind the hills and plunged the countryside into darkness. But even through the dark eelan could just make out the shape of a large castle underneath the warm, inviting lights coming from inside. That excitement she felt earlier was back. She turned to the twins.

"We should change," she said, "I suspect we'll be there in no time."

Soon, the scarlet engine came to a stop at a platform and opened its doors. Fred poked his head out just as students began flooding into the hallway, "Well, it looks like we've made it. Are we ready to go?"

"Let's hurry before we get trampled," George shoved Veelan and his brother into the crowd and they followed the flow of students into the night.

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**Reviews are sill very much appreciated! Also, I know it's slow getting started, but the story will start soon, I swear.**


	3. All Eyes on You

**Sometimes I forget I have a keyboard again... If you haven't read my DMC fic, my laptop's keyboard stopped working (_the horror!_) so I had to use an on-screen keyboard as an alternative. As you can imagine, it took _forever_ to write, so I went out and got a USB one. Still trying to get back into the flow of updating frequently.**

**Anyway! I hope you're all enjoying my little Veelan. She's got a little secret and you're about to find out what it is! _*wink*_**

**DISCLAIMER: ALL does not own Harry Potter. Her OCs belong to her. The rest are the rightful property of our queen.**

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**Chapter Three**

**All Eyes on You**

"Oi. How long d'ya think they'll keep us waiting for?"

The first years were gathered in front of a pair of large double doors. From the other side, they could hear the laughter and chatter of the older students in the Great Hall. Moments before, Professor McGonagall, a stern-looking witch in emerald green robes, told the lot of them the Sorting ceremony would take place in front of the rest of the student body. Then she left to see if everything was prepared. Veelan's stomach turned over and over when Fred had spoke. They were going to get sorted in front of 300 students?

"Hey, Veelan? You feeling alright? You're looking a little pale," Alicia Spinnet, a girl they had befriended on their trip to the castle, placed her hand over the girl's forehead.

"Fine," Veelan gulped. Her chest tensed and her legs felt wobbly. Oh, how she hated crowds. "A-are they really going to sort us in front of the whole student body?"

"Does that bother you?" Lee Jordan, an acquaintance of Alicia's, asked.

"N-no, of course n-"

"Oh yeah," Fred smirked, dropping his voice and waving his hands around dramatically. "Everyone will be watching you-"

"Eyes burning into your skin-" George cut in.

"Judging you-"

"Mocking-"

"Fred, George!" another girl, Angelina Johnson, slapped the boys hard on their arms. "You're scaring the poor girl. Look, she's positively green... Wait a second... Veelan, your hair!"

"Huh?" in her state of panic, Veelan had temporarily lost control of her emotions. Her soft bronze hair had accidentally fizzled into a jade green. She squeaked and clapped her hands onto her head in an attempt to hide the color. She had been so good with keeping her secret. Her face broke out into a bright, unforgiving blush. Luckily, no one else had noticed.

"Whoa," Fred grinned. "You're a metamorphmagus?"

"Wicked," his brother breathed.

"Y-you don't think it's weird?" Veelan's heart fluttered. Her shoulders relaxed a bit, her hands still on her head, and her hair shimmered back to it's preferred bronze. The five of them, Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George, and Lee, exchanged glances before bursting into fits of laughter. Angelina placed a hand on Veelan's shoulder.

"You're really worried about that?" she asked, a genial smile on her face.

"If you're weird, I'm a saint," George tittered.

"And we can all probably assume that isn't true," Alicia rolled her eyes, beaming.

"That hurts," he sniffed.

At that moment, an unspoken bond had formed between the five of them. A ligature so strong not even the darkest of magic could break it. Veelan, in spite of herself, laughed and finally lowered her arms. The doors to the Great Hall opened and McGonagall reappeared. All heads turned to her. "They're ready for you," she announced. "If you will follow me."

The apprehensive feeling was back. Veelan choked on her voice, concentrating very hard on keeping her emotions in check. Alicia took her hand and squeezed it gently. The first years followed the professor through the double doors. Just like the outside of the castle, the Great Hall was breath-taking. Thousands of candles hovered just below the tall ceiling that was bewitched to look like the inky sky outside. Four long tables topped with glittering plates and goblets and filled with students stretched side by side towards another table overlooking the rest of the room, where the teachers were sat. In front of that table was a single stool where a curious, battered wizard's hat perched. It wasn't until McGonagall turned to them did Veelan realize the room had gone quiet. She could feel hundreds of eyes boring into the back of her head. Something wriggled in her stomach.

"When I call your name, you will come up and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. From there, it will choose which House is best suited for you," the witch explained, her eyes floating over each face. "The four Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

The twins were practically writhing with excitement next to her. She, however, couldn't share the same excitement. It was true being sorted was one of the things she had been looking forward to, but now her mind was racing. What House was she going to be in? Hufflepuff? She'd always listened to Kemera tell stories about her former House. A place for the kind and the loyal. But would she fit there? Sure, she was kind and she was faithful to her friends, but was it enough? She wasn't sure. Then there was Ravenclaw. That seemed more suited to her. She loved reading and learning new things, but then again, she was more of a reads-for-fun person and she never focused on her studies for more than an hour. She wasn't cunning enough for Slytherin and the stories she had heard about that House made her pray she wasn't placed there. That only left Gryffindor. She never prided herself in her bravery, in fact she was more or less a coward, but she knew her father had been in that House. _Where does that leave me? _She thought desperately. Somewhere far off, McGonagall was naming off students. Someone nudged her in the side.

"You alright?" Fred whispered.

Veelan nodded. "Fine. Just thinking."

"Well, you have a very scary thinking face," he chuckled.

"Jax, Veelan," McGonagall called.

Veelan froze. She felt as if her feet her plastered to the floor. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her hands became clammy. It took both Fred and George to push her forward and get her legs moving. Slowly, Veelan made her way to the stool, feeling every pair of eyes on her. She kept her head down as she sat on the stool and, before the hat slipped perfectly over her eyes, caught a glimpse of Angelina and Alicia smiling and giving her a thumbs up.

_"Ooh, such a jumbled mind you have," _said a voice in her ear. Was the hat talking to her? _"I see so much potential in this little head of yours. But where to put you? Perhaps Ravenclaw? You could easily outshine everyone there... No, your heart wouldn't be in it. But what about Hufflepuff? A kind and loyal soul I see here, no doubt about that..."_

It was then she knew exactly where she wanted to be. Gryffindor, where she had a chance to prove herself, where she could become closer to her father. There she knew she could be someone. She could be_ brave_, she could be _stupid_, she could _shine_. She felt this need in her very lungs. She could taste it on the tip of her tongue. It pulled at every desire in her heart, making it sing achingly at the thought. She _wanted _this. She was _destined _to belong in a place where she could be free.

_"Such a fierce desire," _the hat chuckled. _"Such beautiful thoughts running through your head. Are you certain? You could be great in every House, you know?"_

Veelan had never been so certain about something in her life. Gryffindor was where she was meant to be and she knew it. She gripped the sides of the stool so hard her knuckles turned white. She swallowed her pulse and exhaled. She gave a slight nod. The hat mumbled incoherently in her ear and then-

_"GRYFFINDOR!"_

The Lions erupted into a roaring applause. Veelan hopped down from the stool and stumbled to the table, positively beaming. She sat herself next to a pensive-looking boy with red hair and horn-rimmed glasses. Angelina and Lee were sorted into Gryffindor as well, but it didn't take long for Veelan's attention to be brought elsewhere. Though her turn was over, there was still the incredible burning sensation of watchful eyes. She peered up though her hair at the teacher's table. An elderly man sat in the middle with a long beard and silver hair to match smiling down at McGonagall as she called up another student to be sorted. She recognized him to be Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts' headmaster. He wore periwinkle robes with silver stars as well has half-moon spectacles on his crooked nose. His blue eyes sparkled behind his glasses. Veelan liked him instantly. Dumbledore, however, wasn't the source of the problem.

Sitting next to a man with greasy black hair and a crooked nose was another man. He was tall, thin, with pale skin that was almost blue. He had a long, handsome face framed by silky blonde hair with deep set black eyes. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't paying the Sorting any attention. His eyes were on Veelan as the ceremony continued, sending shivers down her spine. Why was he staring? And why the hell wouldn't he blink? There was a sudden, unpleasant ringing in Veelan's ears that slowly rose to almost deafening. McGonagall's mouth was no longer making noise. She clamped her hands over her ears and tore her eyes away from the strange man. She couldn't place her finger, but something about him made her uneasy. The ringing stopped the moment the red-haired boy placed his hand on her back.

"You alright?" he whispered, trying not to disturb the rest of the ceremony.

Veelan realized most of the Gryffindor table had turned their heads to stare. A blush painted her cheeks and she ducked her head. "F-fine," she mumbled.

She avoided the teacher's table the rest of the ceremony. During her episode, Slytherin and Hufflepuff received twelve new students while Ravenclaw and Gryffindor recieved fourteen. Finally, it was Fred and George's turn to be sorted. Fred was named first. He bounded towards the stool and plopped down onto it, eagerly waiting for the hat to be placed on his head. It had barely touched his hair when the Sorting Hat bellowed, _"GRYFFINDOR!"_

Fred slid off the stool and did a funny little dance, earning him a laugh from everyone (including Dumbledore) except for the boy next to Veelan. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and shook his head, muttering something that sounded like, "Mother wouldn't approve of such behavior." Fred looked over the Gryffindor table and gave Veelan a thumbs up as he waited for his brother (_"GRYFFINDOR!"_).

"Make room!" the twins yelled. It was a tight fit, but they managed to squeeze themselves in on either side of Veelan, deliberately knocking the other boy's glasses askew on his face.

"Sorry, Percy. Didn't see you there," George said.

"Quite," Percy growled, adjusting his glasses.

"Aw, why'd you fix 'em? They looked better that way," Fred smirked. The boy turned away.

"Friend of yours?" Veelan asked.

"Brother, actually," George groaned. Percy shot him a glare. He stuck out his tongue.

"It's a shame," Fred sighed. "He's got this horrible disease that keeps him from having fun-"

"More like having a sense of humor," scoffed his brother.

"There's really no cure for it," he cast a somber look at Percy whose ears had begun to turn as red as his hair.

Dumbledore stood from his seat and raised a hand for silence. Immediately the room hushed and the older wizard smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts, first years," he began. "And to those of you returning, welcome back. I have very little to say, so I will get started. It is in my best intentions to inform all students that the Forbidden Forest on the edge of the grounds is absolutely off limits to those who do not wish to die a most painful death."

Murmurs weaved through the students and Dumbledore waited patiently for them to finish before he continued. "I would also like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Valerian Alexandru."

Dumbledore gestured to the strange man who now had a name. Alexandru bowed his head to the students, his black eyes once again falling on Veelan. The ringing erupted in her head again and she could have sworn she heard a low, menacing laugh.

And then it stopped.

Alexadru had reverted his attention back to Dumbledore. "Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let the feast begin."

The plates were suddenly filled with mountains of food and the pitchers began to sweat with cold pumpkin juice. The smells were so enticing and Veelan had no idea where to start. Fred and George on the other hand had already filled their cheeks with food. Angelina grimaced.

"Aren't worried about choking, I see," she said.

"Oi, don' yu juth uth," George managed through a mouthful of chicken.

Fred swallowed. "Can't you tell? We're starving children who need food."

Angelina rolled her eyes. Alicia glanced up at the table. "The Defense teacher is charming, isn't he?"

"Charming? He's gorgeous," Angelina swooned. "I wonder what his class will be like?"

"Bloody agonizing by the looks of it," Fred muttered.

"If it was a lady teacher, you wouldn't be talking so big," Veelan laughed.

"That's different," he defended.

"I dunno..." she admitted, avoiding the teacher's table altogether. "He makes me uncomfortable."

"I guess I can see why," Angelina nodded. "His eyes are rather intimidating."

Veelan couldn't tell them about the ringing noise. And she certainly couldn't explain the laugh she had heard. They would just think she was crazy. And maybe she was. maybe the trip from London just made her tired. Yeah, that had to be it. _Take it easy Vee. A teacher isn't out to get you. Especially a teacher you haven't fully met._

* * *

**Sorry that took so long! I've been super busy, but I guess it's better than nothing, right? So, can any of you guess what's up with Alexandru? c: Reviews are also appreciated!**


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